sunset from behind the wire

Thursday, August 23, 2018

I will be speaking to a mixed group of graduate students and prominent members of the community, some US State people in La Jolla (pronounced La-Hoya), California on Thursday on the future of the "nation" of Palestine. I'm speaking again later in the day on the subject of Boko Haram, currently killing Nigerians for fun and profit.

The topic and the fact that I'm bloviating on it shouldn't surprise anyone. It's a common topic and there are as many solutions to the problems as there are people to suggest them. I'm hardly an expert, but the people who are paying me, are doing so because I have an uncomfortable propensity to speak my mind. That's rare in an academic environment and I'm sure that I'd be fired or would never achieve tenure - if I was an academic, and I'm not. The odd thing is the patron who is footing the bill - King Salman, the ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Traditionally, I've been a harsh critic of the Saudis, and a harsher critic of Iran. I think that the difference is that I have personally known members of the royal family and they feel that while I may be misguided, there are some threads that they want discussed. And they want some people taking notes, which is how they are being shanghai'd into sitting there and listening to my drivel. The Saudis also like the fact that I'm not a Jew and am not particularly pro-Israel as well. I like to think that there is objective truth in the region that everyone can agree on.

In the case of Boko Haram, I've been encouraging the Saudis to fund a Muslim-led effort to wipe them from the face of the Earth. It's gaining some traction. I'll let you know how things stand in a week or ten days.

Venue

La Jolla is home to boutique universities, state universities, private conference centers and an LDS temple (right) that can be viewed from the I-5 freeway and looks very cool.

The city is 'old money' in the SoCal sense of 'old', which is not that old at all - old regionally.

Some of the Saudis that I know own racing stables just north of there in Del Mar. People who live in Del Mar, California are a bit weird even by California standards and are referred to as Del Martians.

And if this blog seems to be punching all over the map, I know it is. Because this whole speech thing is strange, La Jolla is eccentric, and it has nothing what-so-ever to do with the White Wolf Mine, and I'll be living there, in a month.

Housekeeping

As of January 1, 2017 this blog began to receive anonymous posts. I try not to delete them, but if you want to be taken seriously here, you need to identify yourself, if only by some sort of cryptonym.

Welcome to Virtual Mirage

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the cat. "We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad."

"How do you know I'm mad," asked Alice?

"You must be," said the cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

Good Morning

Virtual Mirage - What's on the other side of the mirror? Ask Alice how deep the rabbit hole really goes.

This blog is an extension of MY JOURNEY because sometimes my journey needs more explanation, and sometimes there is more to be said than can be expressed on one ordinary blog.

Sometimes it's politics (very serious), sometimes I address the human condition with a dose of humor, and other times it may seem as if the track is headed in a unique direction. I can be a complicated guy at times.

There are a few things you'll find I consider:

* Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

* Sometimes the questions are complex but the answers are simple.

* Love is the only condition where the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

* Steers do not sign treaties with meat packers. (think on that)

* Taxes are NEVER levied for the benefit of the taxed.

* The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no victory possible in defense.

WHITE POWDER (Novel)

There is something intoxicating about a secret.

THE OLD WHORE (NOVEL)

In the peculiar culture of the Central Intelligence Agency, "old whores" are people who will do whatever it takes to get the job done, irrespective of the cost.

EXILES FROM EDEN (NOVEL)

Sparks fly as two star-crossed lovers meet. He runs toward trouble as she yearns for something missing. And it ends in a flight from and toward justice.

About Me

Today, I balance work and play as much as anyone can. All things remaining equal, play is more important. Life is short - it's important to make every day count for something, if only to yourself.
I'm a former tinker/tailor/soldier/sailor who has now decided that maybe it really wasn't all done for nothing.

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